Journal Article

This teaching case study provides a rich and realistic story of automating knowledge work within the context of a large, non-profit company. As an early pioneer in robotic process automation that built their own tool, the automation team at Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina (BCBSNC) sought to improve business performance through automation, which they accomplished in the form of a triple digit return on investment. However, BCBSNC managers had to mitigate the consequences of such success, such as deciding how to deal with redundant staff in an organization that values its employees and how to evaluate the work of the retained staff whose jobs became more challenging after automation. This case offers an opportunity to diagnose and to prescribe practices for resolving automation tussles among organizational stakeholders, including senior management vs middle managers, IT departments vs business operations, management vs labor, and ultimately man vs machine.

Thanks to digital technologies, place and time have become less important than ever before. Employees have become digital nomads, benefiting from this alleged increase in flexibility. However, little effort has been put forth to understand how they feel about this change. We led semi-directive interviews of people active in the economy of services in Geneva. The results highlight a gap between employees' fears and feelings, and research interests that may lead to increased human-related risks.

The video game companies are at the crossroads of creative and technological paths. They face numerous organizational challenges and must find a balance between the need to carry out large projects in on time and that encourage collaboration among its teams to facilitate innovation. This article attempts to answer the following questions: How do employees access the video games they information they need every day? How does Web 2.0 type tools are ranked among all existing sources in the company? From an empirical study in one of the biggest studios in the world video games, we show that the digital tools of web 2.0 type are at the heart of employee practices. We interviewed twenty-nine actors following the methodology and the theoretical framework of Diane Sonnewald called informational horizon. Our results show the diversity and importance of the tools used to access to information. The devices adapted web 2.0 business place the user at the heart of innovation and now appear as tools of institutional vision for the sharing of information. [googletranslate_en]

Work on platforms is part of a wider trend towards the increasing fragmentation of work. It takes different forms, ranging from short spells of employment with the same employer to moving between different work arrangements to juggling multiple jobs at the same time. In all its forms, it signals an increasing job instability and is often fuelled by insufficient income from one job to cover the cost of living.

We apply meta‐regression analysis to the extant econometric studies and find that unions depress investment in innovation at the firm and industry level in all countries considered. However, this adverse effect has been declining over time and is moderated by country differences in industrial relations and regulations: The adverse effect appears to increase with labor market flexibility.

The subject of this discussion is a book about work. The theme of this review is the changing nature of work and the serious questions that this change raises for students of public sector innovation. In thinking about how public sector innovators should address questions of work, a paradox immediately arises. The work of research, policy creation, implementation and assessment requires people to be observers and objects of study at the same time.

The firm’s stock of human capital is an important determinant of its ability to innovate. As such, any increase in this stock through firm-sponsored training might lead to more innovation. The author tests this hypothesis using detailed data on firms’ human capital investments and innovation performance from the Canadian Workplace and Employee Survey, 1999–2006. The regression results, including workplace fixed effects and allowing for time-varying productivity shocks, demonstrate that more training leads to more product and process innovation, with on-the-job training playing a role that is as important as classroom training. Results from an event history analysis show, however, that this impact fades over time.

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to illustrate how important it is for older workers to keep up to date with technological and other developments – especially in industries experiencing major changes because of digitization. It also introduces the concept of IT certification and how this can help older workers to demonstrate their skills. Design/methodology/approach - The conundrum of unemployed graduates at a time of skill shortages and where this leaves older workers is discussed. The design and engineering industry has been used as a specific example and the kind of changes taking place has been illustrated. Findings - Reasons why managers should encourage staff to keep updating their skills and why certification is a good way to do this have been provided. Social implications - Reasons why employees who may be at the peak of their careers cannot afford to be complacent and to neglect to update their skills have been explained. Originality/value - This study discusses the impact of graduate unemployment and the need for training upon older workers and demonstrates the value of information technology certification for this age group.

We use two administrative data sets to examine the correlates of (a) taking the high school courses needed for university science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs and (b) applying to and registering in such programs. Staying on the STEM path during high school depends most importantly on math and science grades at each level. Factors such as gender, immigration status, and average neighbourhood income play relatively smaller roles. These two sets of factors play similar roles in the transition to university STEM programs. These results raise challenging questions of what lies behind the differences in critical factors among high school students.